Why is the story of lazarus only in john

Ancient Jewish texts reveal an important belief held by the Jews who were waiting at the tomb of Lazarus. Only then did Jesus raise Lazarus, and the result was stunning amongst those Jews who held these primary beliefs about death and the soul. They became believers. One of the reasons we typically struggle with passages like the raising of Lazarus is our desire to read it through the lens of our modern understanding or our base desires.

But when we take the time to examine the account from the perspective of the original events and the authors who recorded them, reasonable explanations emerge. It just takes some effort to think like a detective and investigate the past. This book teaches readers ten principles of cold-case investigations and applies these strategies to investigate the claims of the gospel authors.

Subscribe to J. Scroll to continue reading. Written By J. Warner Wallace J. Warner Wallace is a Dateline featured cold-case homicide detective, popular national speaker and best-selling author. He continues to consult on cold-case investigations while serving as a Senior Fellow at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview.

He is also an Adj. Cold Case Christianity. Apologetics ForumApologetics Forum. Pingback: Is the Raising of Lazarus Fictional?

Cold Case Christianity — Elders Scrolls. Also the the evangelists could have simply told the story without the names. Lazarus was probably still alive when the other 3 accounts were written. Perhaps he was in a "witness protection program. The writers of the gospels all have different audiences and different points they are trying to make. Matthew was geared towards the Jews and wanted to show Jesus as the messiah.

John's goal was to show the divinity of Jesus. My guess is that John included the story of Lazarus rising from the dead because it showed Jesus' divinity. Historically, the gospels were written a few hundred years the life of Jesus on Earth. So I don't think it was that Lazarus was still alive. Here is the the things about Lazarus's resurrection, it is NOT mentioned anywhere but in John's Gospel, yet in it John gives details that one would omit if doing a parable or even if trying to "Fake" soemthing.

John mentions names, Lazarus, Mary and Martha, mentions WHERE they live, in detail Bethany mentions the many people that were there and mentions how the jewish leaders od the time contemplated killing Lazarus.

Jesus raised more than Lazurus, but the significance was how long Lazarus was dead and that it was done publicily. Why the other Gospels don't mention it is a good question but one that we don't have an answer for, though we may speculate. It reads as follows:. There was a rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.

The rich man also died and was buried; and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus in his bosom. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.

But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words? In fact, some of the early Church fathers argued that this was exactly the case and identify the rich man of the parable as Simon the Pharisee cf. One final and interesting parallel to the story in Luke is the curious way in which John ends the story of the raising of Lazarus. Rather we are shown that the miracle provokes an immediate plot to kill Jesus.

Yet because the Word of God has given them the office they possess, they act as true prophets, even as they condemn themselves by their rejection of Christ. So from that day on they took counsel how to put him to death. Jn The bad shepherd can think only of killing the Good Shepherd. Mark P. Shea is the author of Mary, Mother of the Son and other works.

He was a senior editor at Catholic Exchange and is a former columnist for Crisis Magazine. Is Scott Hahn a Fundamentalist? Loyola Marymount University and the Loss of Faithfulness. Cardinal Cupich and The Big Lie.